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One of the most important elements in French electoral politics as the century draws to a close, Jean-Marie Le Pen and his fascist National Front have succeeded by using a political formula similar to that being used by the American right. Founded by former Gestapo and SS collaborators and veterans of the Vichy fascist government that collaborated with the Nazis, the National Front is the proudly outspoken heir to the Vichy. Le Pen has gained political mileage by running against “corrupt politicians,” “immigrants” (people of color in particular), “crime in the streets,” “destructive foreign cultural influences” and “leftists.” All of these are frequent rhetorical targets of the American right-wing. In addition, the National Front is pursuing a strategy of establishing grass-roots, local political control in order to build a dominant power base — a strategy being pursued by the Christian right in the United States.